Rotor Replacement Question??

[99f350sd]

Has anyone had good luck with rotors. Finding some that won't warp..My factory fronts need replacing. I had them cut once and now they are warped again...

Thanks

Dick

[Bear River]

Use ceramic brake pads, make sure all the brakes are properly adjusted, and use a lathe to cut a cooling groove. The warped rotor indicate the front brakes are working too hard. If you use the parking brake periodically, it helps ensure that the correct brake ratio is maintained.

[marragtop]

Also, make sure the wheels are torgued properly. Don't let the tire jockeys over torgue them with air tools. Over torguing will result in warping.

[spikedog]

Originally Posted by Bear River

Use ceramic brake pads, make sure all the brakes are properly adjusted, and use a lathe to cut a cooling groove. The warped rotor indicate the front brakes are working too hard. If you use the parking brake periodically, it helps ensure that the correct brake ratio is maintained.

That's interesting. Is that true for all FORDS, or just explorers? How does that work? I thought you just had to put the brakes on solidly while backing up once in a while, and they should self-adjust.

[Bear River]

This should be true of all Fords. The auto adjusting tensioner is activated and operated by the parking brake mechanism. Putting on the brakes while backing up is not any different than doing so in forward.

[87 XLT]

On my 87 Ranger the rears do self adjust when backing up & hitting the brakes.

But, i think on most newer Fords the self adjusters are only activated with the parking brake.

I read that a lot of vehicles in Florida were chewing up front brakes because it's so flat there & theres no need to use the parking brake.

The rears get loose & the fronts do all the work.

My wife never uses her parking brake, so once a week I pump it 10 times to keep the rears adjusted.

[460]

Originally Posted by Bear River

This should be true of all Fords.

Is this true of all Fords, or just the ones with disc brakes in the rear?

[460]

Originally Posted by 99f350sd

My factory fronts need replacing. I had them cut once and now they are warped again...

Thanks

Dick

The rotors will warp quicker after turning them because they can't dissipate the heat as well as they did when they were thicker. I've suspected some shops of spinning them down to nothing so they will warp quick and you'll be back to buy new ones...

Originally Posted by marragtop

Also, make sure the wheels are torgued properly. Don't let the tire jockeys over torgue them with air tools. Over torguing will result in warping.

Excellent advice, and so little known and so often overlooked. Torque wrenchs are for torquing lug nuts; not impact wrenches. Using an impact to torque the lug nuts is a good way to get a bent wheel also.



.

[Rainbow ST]

I know I am late coming in.. but one more thing about the impact wrench. If you have aftermarket rims with those "keyed" lug nuts, don't let them use the impact gun on them. I had a $2 lug nut from a chrome rim end up costing me $900 to fix when they broke the lug nut with the gun, and we ended up having to cut the rim to get it off the truck and then still had to cut the stud off the rear hub.

I also found that most of my threads were eaten up because the guy I took it to insisted on using the gun. So I ended up having the thing restuded and buying new front rotors.

[460]

Originally Posted by Rainbow ST

I had a $2 lug nut from a chrome rim end up costing me $900 to fix when they broke the lug nut with the gun,

Did they even attempt to remove the broken locking lug nut? Usually they can be removed by hammering a socket over them and then zipping them off with an impact. It isn't good for the socket, but I've gotten off every one I've tried like that.

[jasongt06]

Driving habits also can warp rotors as people ride the brakes which causes them to build up excess heat which will warp them.